Martyr Ayatollah Khamenei was pillar of support for Palestine: Islamic Jihad

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement has described martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as a central supporter of the Palestinian people and a staunch defender of the Muslim world's sovereignty.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Palestinian group praised Ayatollah Khamenei as a "fundamental pillar" of support for the Palestinian people, who provided sustained backing to Palestinian resistance movements over several decades.

According to the statement, the group said the late Iranian Leader was a firm defender of the sovereignty of the Muslim nation against hegemonic and domination-driven agendas.

It also hailed him as a wise and comprehensive leader whose decisions played a decisive role in Iran's military, logistical and political support for the Palestinian cause. 

The movement further noted that continued support for the Palestinian cause remains the cornerstone of unity among Muslim and Arab nations, praising Iran for standing up to US global hegemony and defending the sovereignty of the Iranian nation and the causes of the wider Muslim community.

Separately, Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah, who attended the funeral ceremonies in Tehran, told reporters he had come on behalf of Palestinian resistance fighters to pay tribute to the late Leader.

Al-Nakhalah described Ayatollah Khamenei as a distinguished leader with a deep commitment to the Palestinian cause, adding that Palestinians held him in high regard.

He also said the Islamic Republic had consistently supported the Palestinian people and would continue to do so, describing support for Palestine as a central principle established by Imam Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, and maintained under Ayatollah Khamenei's leadership until the ultimate victory of the Palestinian cause.

The statements come as the two-day farewell ceremony for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution has begun at Tehran's Grand Imam Khomeini Mosalla.

The main funeral procession in Tehran is scheduled for Monday.

Funeral ceremonies will also be held in Qom on Tuesday, and in Mashhad on Thursday, where the Leader will be laid to rest at the Imam Reza Shrine.

Special farewell and funeral ceremonies for the martyred Leader will also take place in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, according to the organizers.

On Friday, official tributes were paid by heads of state, dignitaries from various countries, and religious leaders from around the world in Tehran.

Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's leader since 1989, was assassinated at the age of 86 at his compound in central Tehran on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.

The strike, part of a coordinated US-Israeli war of aggression, also killed several of his relatives.

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